Automated Emissions Reduction Dispatch Signal DR Emerging Technologies Assessment

The purpose of this Demand Response Emerging Technology (DRET) Assessment is to confirm that, in a laboratory setting, end-use energy consumption by certain appliances can be automatically controlled by a combination of: (1) a frequently changing (every 5 minutes) GHG intensity signal based on near-real-time data from power grid operators; (2) an end-use specific control algorithm that utilizes the GHG intensity signal, energy consumption data, and customer inputs (simulated in the lab) to produce and communicate a dispatch order to a smart controller and (3) a smart controller that can reliably act on the dispatch order created by the control algorithm to shift energy consumed by the appliance into periods of relatively low GHG intensity. This study shows that is it possible both to communicate with and control smart devices in real-time to achieve emissions reductions through load reduction and load shifting.